By Scazzero
Recap:
We crushed it today. We fit so much in… it’s crazy.
Fist, we woke up at about 5 or 5:30am and drove about 45 min through some villages and rough roads to a small town called Togoville. This is where JJ purchased some lakefront property for a camp that they will be building there. It’s very rural out there and it’s so beautiful. JJ showed me the layout of where the buildings, sports fields, etc. will be going. They will use this for camps as well as for a Bible Institute all year long. I can’t wait to see this start taking shape. They will be clearing land soon and can really use some money for buildings. This WILL be a place where HUGE life changes takes place. It’s not my opinion… it’s a guarantee! If you’re interested in being a part of it on a trip or supporting it financially, hit me up on facebook. Even if you just wanna hear about updates or pray for the progress, make sure to connect with JJ on facebook and follow what’s going on.
On our way to the camp property, we stopped on the side of the road in a small village and got donuts that a lady was making. She was frying them in hot oil next to the road. These things were so amazing that we stopped on our way back to get a few more. Village Krispy Kreme!
On the way back from the camp, JJ had me ride on top of the Rovers roof to get a different perspective of the land. It was beautiful. Such a great experience. Another time that I wish I could bring all my friends to experience it.
One of the villages that we had to go back through was super small but had a huge open air Voodoo Temple there. I walked in to take some pictures. This is a place where they do human sacrifices. Witchdoctors come from all over to work together here. It’s a dark and depressing place. Hearing the stories of things that happen at places like this is disturbing. It’s a dark place.
After visiting Togoville, we drove back to Aneho where JJ lives (another 45 min) for our morning guitar lessons. I was able to spend some time with Jonas this morning. He is doing extremely well with his lessons. He’s a very impressive person. Whatever he puts his mind to, he seems to excel. He is a great teacher and a great discipler as well. He has such a heart for the Togolese.
After our morning guitar lesson, we drove back into Lome (the capitol..45 min away) for a few errands we had to run. We also stopped by the fetish market there. It was the most erie place I’ve ever been to in my life. It was as if you walked into an open air flea market that only sold dead animals and skulls. The smell of death filled the air and there were mainly just witch doctors there. The moment you walked in, it felt like someone laid a stack of books on your chest. Everywhere I’ve been in this country, I’ve seen smiles. If you’re around these people for any length of time, they are laughing and enjoying each others company. It was not like that in this market at all. There was a solemness that filled their presence. Everywhere I’ve gone here, all eyes are on you (because you are white/different), but there was something else that wasn’t right about this place. It’s as if they sensed Jesus on us and it created a tension in the air. This stuff is the real deal… however… MY GOD IS BIGGER!
I’m constantly reminded by the fact that there is no middle ground in this country. It’s either dark or it’s light. Christians stand out here! There is boldness that they cary that is inspiring.
On the way back to Aneho (another 45 min drive.. ha) we passed a passenger that was carrying a ton of weight that had gotten stuck in sand…all the way down to their axel. They would have most likely been there all night trying to get out. We stopped and helped them and they were out in about 15-20 minutes.
Tonight, we started the guitar practice. We started with a worship service. I really enjoyed this. At one point, we stopped and just prayed out loud together (all at once). It was a powerful moment hearing 3 different languages crying out go God all at once in worship. I will not soon forget things like this.
After this, many of the guys expressed a thanks to me for coming all the way to teach them. I’ve come to realize that for me, giving ends up bringing such a rewarding feeling to me rather than just benefiting the recipient. I told them that they have inspired me with their strong sense of community and their boldness. They do everything together. They study the Word together, they share their faith in groups, they practice guitar together, they build bricks together, etc.. This is how God intended us to do life. I will miss this guys very much. I wish I wasn’t saying goodbye.
I will most likely not be blogging for a few days as I’m in transit.
For you that have followed this trip and prayed for me or supported me financially, I want to express a huge thank you. It means so much. I hope I’ve been able to shed some light on what the missionaries here work with on a daily basis. They are the real deal. It’s one thing for me to come for 2 weeks and work, but they are killing it like this every day. They are Heros. Please pray for JJ and Melissa Alderman (and the new baby Alderman…currently residing in Mel’s belly). If you haven’t already, make sure to follow them on facebook.
If you are interested in visiting Togo, please let me know. I’d love to speak with you about a future trip. I really wish I could bring every one of my friends here to let them all experience what I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing these weeks.
For more information on this ministry, visit www.togopalms.org or JJ’s FACEBOOK
For pics from today, visit my Facebook HERE
Recap:
Of course, we started with early morning guitar lessons again. At this point, they’ve spent about 2 weeks with me and we’re now just playing through songs. I’m so proud of these guys.
JJ and Melissa are so gracious to have so many groups staying with them throughout the year. They have a huge heart to allow others to see the mission field personally. The downside is that they invest in others so much, that they don’t always take the time to do things they want to do… so… today for our mid-day activity, JJ and I did some needed painting in their house for them. We had some fun conversations as we beautified their house.
After this, we went to the community basketball court. When we got there Frank (who came to know Christ because of this ministry) was already out there teaching the kids exercises and getting them warmed up. He does such a great job with those younger than him. I can really see great potential in ministry for him.
After some warm up time with the boys at the court, JJ took me back to their courtyard for a treat. Every Wednesday evening they host something called “Courtyard Kids”. This is open to the whole community. It’s something Melissa hosts that is for the younger kids. Children here have NOTHING like this for them, so they didn’t know what to think about it at first.. but they love it. Today, about 65 small children from the village showed up. I got to hang out with them as they learned from the Word, played games, and sang together. I can’t be certain, but I think they were all making fun of me. They made me come up front and do the motions to one of the song that makes you look really funny. We had such a great time together. For pictures of them, check out my FB page.
I’ll be honest, I often question organizations that have lots of different ministries. I like the idea of simplicity… and in the back of my mind I questioned all these sports based ministries… like basketball and soccer. After being here for 2 weeks, I’m sold on it. The whole church here came from things like that. It’s just another avenue for people to connect with other people so they can share the love of Christ with them.
Courtyard kids is no different. You may remember my blog about one of my students (Simon) who is being pressured by his family to be heavily involved in Witchcraft. The reason he came to know Christ can be traced back to Courtyard Kids. He was introduced to this church in West Africa because Melissa loved on their children and provided this Wednesday event for them. It gets peoples attention when you genuinely love their children. After he came to know Christ, his son (Juel) also came to know christ. He also introduced his sister (Osha), another lady that now attends the church (Leonce), and his good friend (Atien). He is an incredible person with a powerful story. By the way.. Simon was late for guitar practice tonight because he and his friend (Atien) were out sharing their faith with someone. If the gospel has truly changed us, it is worth sharing.
Here in the darkness of this country, there is not much middle ground. The wicked stand out strong, and those living for Christ stand out strong. In this darkness, if you know Christ, you shine bright and attract a lot of attention.
One more thing… I was so pumped to hear from a few of my friends in Florida today. One of them said I don’t have a lot of money but I have $50.00 and I saw how far money goes there. She was asking about how to make a difference. If you are interested, hit me up on Facebook and I’ll be happy to tell you how you can make a tangible difference in someones life here.
I’m so grateful for generous people. It’s encouraging.
For more info about this ministry, visit: www.togopalms.org or visit JJ Alderman on FB
To see pics from today, visit my facebook HERE.
Recap:
We started with Guitar lessons this morning early at 7:30am. We learned some new chords as well as the purpose of a capo. After that, Melissa, JJ and I drove to the capitol to take care of some business. The capitol drive is about 45 minutes long. While we were there, we were able to go by a few shops, change out money and have a nice lunch near the ocean. I really take little things for granted like sewage, clean city water or clean pumped well water, and trash systems. I started to walk in the ocean today only to realize that there was trash everywhere. I mean it was impossible to walk out into the surf without getting small bags or trash stuck to you. Even in the large city of Lome (the capitol), there is no city sewage system, they only have septic systems which often can run into the water source that they pull from for water. I love this country and I love the people here, but an Atheist from Togo was quoted saying “the only thing that will change our Country is God”. I’d say the same thing applies to America. We like to blame people and companies, but finding the right leader will not fix any country. Only the outpouring of God’s blessing will make the change. He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.
After lunch, we returned back to Aneho (where JJ and Melissa live) for our evening guitar lesson. Shortly after the lesson time started, the electricity went out again. These guys are hardcore though… they didn’t skip a beat.. they just kept practicing. The same thing happened during our guitar classes last night too. I told the guys “this is perfect, I was going to have you practice blindfolded tonight anyway”. :)
During practice, I spoke with one of my students…Frank. You may remember him as the guy who got off the court to talk to a boy about Jesus. I asked Frank how he came to know Jesus. He said he came from Nigeria to Togo 2 years ago so he could learn French. Frank speaks English in his portion of Nigeria. About 6 months after he got to Togo, he met Ryan Cosson on the community basketball court here in Aneho. Ryan asked him about his spiritual journey, and Frank was under the impression that good works alone would assure his Salvation. Ryan was able to show Frank through the Word that his Faith in Christ alone is what assures his Salvation. Within one week of that conversation, Frank came to know Jesus personally and has been radically changed since then. The next question I asked Frank is “why do you want to learn to play the guitar”? He responded, that he held one years ago and has always wanted to learn and had always hoped that he would have an opportunity, so he jumped at the chance to learn when he heard I was coming to teach. Frank has done an incredible job. Not only does he retain knowledge well and apply it well… he has also proven to be a great 1 on 1 coach for the boys younger than him. He has also helped me tremendously with translating to French. Frank is scheduled to go back to Nigeria in January. He told me that his plan is to find a good church when he gets home, and he wants to get involved with their music program and use the guitar to bring glory to God. Frank has a heart for people and I can already see him doing great things for God. I love that God has given me an opportunity to impact people in Nigeria through Frank here in Togo. I am also so thankful for the people that have poured into him spiritually before I even met Frank. He is a true worshiper, and I’m honored to have the pleasure of working with him.
I’d say it was a very successful day of lessons. I am saddened that I only have 2 more full days with these wonderful people. I will miss them greatly.
To find out more about this ministry, visit: www.togopalms.org or you can follow JJ Alderman on his Facebook Page.
For pictures, visit my Facebook page: CLICK HERE
Recap:
I went outside at 8:00am for our morning guitar lesson, and one of the Boys showed up that I didn’t expect to see. He had come by before school to show me something. You may remember me blogging about the orphan boy that had some serious clothing needs. He came by the house on the way to school to show me what he had purchased with the money we (me and those that supported me) had given him. He was so excited to show me that he was able to find quality material for him to have some pants made out of. He didn’t purchase as much as he could have because he wanted to be gracious with the gift and not use it it. He tried to give me change. I sent him back to the marked to buy more underwear and undershirts (which he really needed). I wish I could have teleported all of you here to see the huge smile on his face as he thanked me over and over. #priceless
We went on to have our morning guitar session with Frank, Simone, and Jonas. They retain information so well. It amazes me. Today I taught them how to restring their guitar and stretch the strings out properly before retuning it.
Lunch was great. Melissa (JJ’s wife) does such a great job here. I take all the food and fast food options that I have for granted. She has to plan meals years ahead of time and has to make nearly everything from scratch. I’m very impressed with her… especially since she is pregnant with their first child. I’m pushing for them to name him or her Bryan or Briana. :)
Our evening session was a blast. It is filled with the guys from the morning session as well as all the younger guys who are in school in the mornings. So our evening guitar class attendance has been around 7 or 8 guys each night. After teaching them some new chords and then teaching them how to restring their guitars, we had a worship time together. It was great. I’ve never sang songs before with people singing in 2 other languages (french and ewe…which is a local language). After singing about 4 songs, we stopped and just talked about some of the things God’s done for us that we were thankful for. So many of the guys talked about their previous state and what God has brought us out of. They thank God for where they are. Keep in mind, some of these guys are orphans who don’t have very much to their name. We have this bond though… wether you think you have a lot, or nothing at all… wether you are in the richest or poorest town in the world, we all have the same need… Jesus. If Jesus isn’t enough, nothing is!
After our time of community worship, most of the guys left. One of my students stayed behind to speak with JJ. He has some extremely rough circumstances in his life. I’ll try to tell you his story as briefly as I can.
He was born into a family of voodoo practitioners, and would at some point be handed the torch (so to speak) to lead the family in this Satanic field. He had a great love of money, to the point where he decided to meet with another Voodoo practitioner that specialized in finances. (Sidenote: different witchdoctors specialize in different things and different powers with different demons) So, he met with this witchdoctor in a cemetery one night and told him that he wanted money. When asked how much he wanted, the most he could dream up was our equivalent of $4,000. #perspective The Witchdoctor told him that he would have the money if he would bring him a liter of human blood. At that point, he wanted out and the witchdoctor told him it’s too late and he had already entered a contract. My student at that point went running from the cemetery and feared for his life. Shortly after this, his child went to something called courtyard kids here (this is a ministry to the children of the village). He came to know Christ through this ministry and turned his back on all that he knew. When this happens, he is cut off from his families will and they will not help him. The other night, they approached him again and asked him to reconsider. Not only did he reject the offer, but he told them the truth… that they were living in darkness and were on their way to Hell unless they entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They threatened him with his life. At the same time, his daughter has malaria, and his business is doing so poorly that he is not able to feed his family. He is waking up in the middle of the night from the nightmares of his family killing him. JJ sent him off with some rice and bananas to try to help with his family’s physical need. Please pray the peace and protection of God over him and his family. Satan is powerful… God is more powerful!
If don’t read all of this, at least skip to the BOLD section below.
Today, we were visiting a Church 3 hours north that JJ helps and coaches. The road had a ton of pot holes and we were bounced around like crazy, but it was a beautiful drive. It was very lush with palms, banana trees, mountains, etc… Great view!
When we pulled up to the church, they had just started and I heard “IT”. Someone in this church got their hands on enough instruments to form a small marching band. When we walked into this small church building, we were blown away with the sounds of about 4 trumpets, 2 or 3 trombones, a tuba, drums to makeup a small drum line. It was AWESOME. Some of them were borderline yelling to try to sing over the music… but they loved it. I did too! Lots of churches complain about worship bands… I’ve never seen a church with a “Marching Worship Band”. If you don’t believe me, check out my pics on facebook.
Another great story for those that partnered with me financially. I want to make sure I let you know another place that your money went. I found out that one young man in the church was currently in school, and the school had changed some policies mid-semester on him. They were going to kick him out unless he came up with $14.00. I was able to meet that need for him. It doesn’t always take much to make a huge impact. Meet them at their deepest needs!
We found out that one of the families that came to church this morning had walked (with 3 small children) 4 miles to come to church. They were going to have to walk another 4 miles all the way back home. By the way… these were new believers. How’s that for commitment? How far would we go to connect with other believers and study the Word? Luckily we drove a van today and had the privilege of driving this family home. The kids were so excited to not have to walk all that way in the hot sun. I’ve got a pic of the family on my facebook page.
When we left the church, we visited a cocoa bean and coffee bean plantation before lunch. It hit me as we were walking towards the jungle atmosphere that I’m wearing flip flops and that this probably was a poor attire choice. Too late now. Right as we entered the tree covering (which felt like walking into air-conditioning) I heard such a great sentence. ”Watch out for the cobras and mambas… they like to hang out in the trees and drop on you when you walk by”. #getmeouttahere #Idon’tlikeshadethatmuch One of the guys on the plantation gave us a cocoa bean to try later. It was quite tasty. We didn’t eat the bean part, we just sucked on them… They were covered in a sweet fruity type goo that was delicious.
After our excursion, we went back to the pastors house for lunch.
THIS WAS ONE OF THE MOST HUMBLING EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE! I’m going to try to explain the emotions I had here, but I know in advance I will fail. We walked into his home, and sat in what appeared to be his living room. There were a few padded chairs with a coffee table in the middle. His young son came and cleared it off and put a cloth down to make a table cloth. He was grinning ear to ear to serve us. Shortly, the pastors wife came in with two water basins (one for soapy water, and the other for rinsing) to clean our hands. The she served us our meal with 2 colas. The meal was comprised of a corn mash that was wrapped in husks and cooked. You pull off the mash with your fingers and dip it into a tomato/salsa type paste on the side. She also served us a few small pieces of fried fish. They didn’t eat with us. They just served us their absolute best. I knew they wouldn’t be eating as well as we were, so I wanted to share it with them… then JJ explained that in their culture, they would get more joy out of seeing you enjoy their food than they would eating it themselves. In America, if someone came by, you might say… man, I’d love to serve you something, but we just don’t have anything in the fridge, and you’d continue on. Here, that would be considered a travesty. They made sure to put out more than we would eat, because it would be better for us to be full than to ask for more or to be hungry. After this, they cut up our cocoa bean to share. Then they tried to give us bananas to eat, but we were too full already. They also went into the village, while we were eating to get us bottled water. They had made it a point to get some ice for their ice chest to try to chill our two sodas. While we were there, a man from the village stopped by during our meal. He had a large sack with him and he said “I noticed you were in town and I knew you’d be having lunch here so I got this for you”. He had gone into the jungle and found us fresh bananas, climbed up in the tree and cut them down for us. He also found us some inyam (a root… like a large potatoe). We thanked him so much for his generosity, and he exited our lunch experience. This family also made sure to send us off with even more bananas that they had gathered for us. They truly gave us their very best, and they were so happy to do it. As I prayed over our food and this family, I started tearing up and was trying to compose my words. I felt so selfish and greedy compared to this Godly man and his family. They have found joy in giving and being selfless. He has been cut off from his family as well as his inheritance because of his choice to accept Christ and surrender to ministering to others. The only thing that I know of that this pastor wants, is a small piece of land that he can build on. In their culture, land is a big deal. He want’s something to leave to his children when he passes. If you’d be interested in contributing… hit me up. Even if you can’t, please stop and pray that God would pour his blessings out on this family right now!
Some of you have already hit me up on how to support directly to causes like the ones you read about today. If you want to know more, shoot me a message on facebook.
This seems like a great place to end todays blog.
To find out more about this ministry, visit: www.togopalms.org
For pictures from today, visit: Bryan Tabb’s Facebook
Recap:
We woke up early (as they do every Saturday) and started making bricks at about 7:30am. We worked till about 11:30. Holy cow this is such hard work…. but this church IS GETTING BUILT! I’m blessed to get to invest sweat and hard work in this Church with these Men of God.
This next paragraph is for those that supported me. I really want you to know where some of your money is going. When I got here, I asked JJ to let me know of some needs that he knew of among the community. He pointed one out to me today. There is a young man that I’ve come to love. I’ve invested many hours in coaching him on guitar. He is an orphan and he sleeps on the concrete floor of his aunts house. Let me re-emphasise that last sentence. He sleeps ON THE CONCRETE floor… not on a mattress on the floor. JJ just gave him a thin mattress the other day that he found for him. That made his day! Can you imagine? Today, I was building bricks with this young man, and we (JJ and I) noticed that his clothes were falling off of him, ripped, or didn’t fit. JJ brought him aside and asked him what clothes he had right now other than what he had on. His answer: 1 school shirt, 1 school pants, 1 pair of flip flops, 1 pair of underwear, 1 undershirt. He also asked how he was eating. The guys response: I’m eating… I have some tapioca and nuts (that’s what I call it… it’s like an extremely bland non nutritious tapioca powder that you mix with water to make a paste and has some ground up nuts in it). Let me re-emphasise something that JJ said the other day to me. ”They really know you love them when you’ve met one of their deepest needs: food, clothing, and education.” My eyes were welling up as I talked to JJ privately about this young man. I can’t imagine myself in his shoes…scratch that…. his one pair of flip flops. Sigh… So I was able to give him about $27.00 in his currency today. This is what that bought him: a few good meals, a new school shirt, khaki pants (also for school), 5 pair of underwear, and a few undershirts. $27.00 has never gone so far! If you would be interested in giving to need (DIRECTLY, not through an organization), please let me know, I’d be happy to help connect you to one of these young men.
Later, we went to a hotel in a neighboring town where you can pay a few bucks and cool off in their pool. This felt great after hours of brick making in the hot sun.
We came back and went to soccer. Young men in the community come to the church property every saturday evening to play soccer in the field out back. It’s a great opportunity for relationships.
After that, we had another late night guitar lesson. I introduced the song “Rise and Sing” to them today. They went NUTZ! They loved it. I love worshiping with these guys at the end of each evening session.
I’m off to bed. Gotta get up early. Goodnight.
For more info on this ministry, visit: www.togopalms.org
For pics from today, visit: http://www.facebook.com/BryanTabb
Rundown:
Today started out with another great morning guitar lesson. This morning, we started translating (with the help of JJ Alderman) some songs into french. We had a great time. I love seeing the smiles on the guys faces when they start playing all the way through a song and hear it in their own language. It’s priceless!
Some rats bit into the huge bag of popcorn in the pantry, so Tevi, the next door neighbor, and I sifted through it trying to get all debris out. We got so much crud out of there. Anything that’s exposed to the elements here gets much moisture in it, since we are only a block from the ocean…. so then we had to lay all the corn out in the sun to dry for the day.
After the corn job, I thought it would be fun to go to the beach and see if we could find a few shark teeth, so Tevi joined me. In the time frame of 1 hour, we found 120 shark teeth. DONT GO SWIMMING HERE! Haha
I watched Dwight (JJ’s monkey) get his weekly bath today. He loved it. It was quite funny watching a monkey bask in the shower. (pic on facebook)
We had another guitar lesson in the evening. We are still doing at least 2 hours every morning and 2 hours every evening. These guys continue to impress me. My morning crew (Jonas and Frank) and I taught the evening crew “Blessed Be Your Name”… in French. They loved it, and kept yelling for an encore. We must have played the song at least 4 times for them tonight. I love worshiping and praying with these guys.
Have a great night.
Tabb
For more information on this ministry, visit: www.togopalms.org
For pics from today, visit: http://www.facebook.com/BryanTabb
